Split Second
by IthilienJajuka
Summary: After failing to get an answer from Remus, Tonks decides to ask the only person who knows his heart the best: himself, or rather his past self. But time turning and Tonks was never a good combination. What else is new?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Harry Potter fandom.

Chapter 1: Complications of the Human Condition

Tonks had her feet propped up on the coffee table in the reading room. If Molly was here, she'd be in trouble, but Tonks had other things to worry about, such as what to do with one Remus J. Lupin.

She wasn't sure what she was feeling. Being a part of the Order for only a couple of months, she hadn't expected to be dealing with the complexities of a relationship so soon, especially since she hadn't had a boyfriend in years and all of the available forms of the male species, according to Kingsley, were crotchety old men. Since all of her previous relations were with "punks" her age (as her father kept reminding her), she doubted Kingsley seriously considered the appeal of a middle-aged werewolf.

He was kind, though not enough to stop teasing her about her name, and relatively good looking for his age. However, nothing about him resembled what she usually went for in a guy, and it bothered her to not know what she preferred or was even definitively attracted to.

So she did what any woman would do in her situation. She tested him.

First it was a new hairstyle, but since she changed that every week, no one seemed all that surprised. The second test involved numerous trips up and down the stairs in the vicinity of the subject. However, said subject never failed to help her up before or after the test, so the second attempt proved nothing out of the ordinary.

About an hour ago, she started her third test with a new outfit she bought last night. It was slightly less Tonks-ish but not too different to raise too much suspicion (she put a lot of thought into it). She managed to get a bit of an eye opening look and that enigmatic smile, but considering she was in the reading room of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place alone and not in a bedroom preferably in her apartment very much not alone was indicative of yet another failure.

It wasn't just the tests not working that bothered her, but it was also the somewhat bipolar behavior of Remus that kept confusing her. She'd consider the consistent use of her first name as flirting, and he was the one who always seemed the most concerned with her consistent mishaps with furniture and architecture. However, at other points, he seemed withdrawn and was unwilling to do anything socially outside of the Order. Without resorting to just asking him how he felt, she was running out of options that would save her embarrassment.

She looked down at the object in her hand that would serve as her last ditch effort. She had "borrowed" the time turner from the Department of Mysteries. Unfortunately, she didn't have a clue as to how to use it, which was where her current guest came in to play.

Hermione Granger walked in and flopped into a chair smiling, completely oblivious to the seriousness and sheer stupidity of the situation before her.

"Where's Ginny? I thought we were going out somewhere?"

"Uh...no...not at the moment. I actually wanted to ask you something."

Hermione's ears perked up, and Tonks half expected to see a tail pop out and start wagging.

"Ask me about what?"

"I need to know how to use a time turner."

The eagerness Tonks had seen earlier had all but disappeared and had instead transformed into suspicion.

"Why do you need to know about that? Professor McGonagall would probably be able to help you out if it was for Order business."

"Well, that would be the problem." Tonks laughed at herself nervously. Declaring her love that she didn't know she possessed about a man almost twice her age who taught the girl she was asking was not exactly easy. "Umm...it's not really for the Order."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. For getting into trouble all the time at school, Hermione sure stuck to the rules often. "You're using a time turner for personal reasons?"

"Well, yes."

"Tonks-"

"C'mon, Hermione. This is important to me."

"What could be so important that you're willing to change history and the future for?"

Tonks bit her lip. "I like someone."

Hermione dropped her head into her hands. "That's not a good reason."

"Well, Dumbledore is always talking about having more love in this world."

"I don't think he meant doing something stupid for love. Besides, you said you only liked someone."

"It may be a little more than that."

Hermione looked up from her hands. "How much more?"

"Just more, okay."

"Hmm..." Hermione sat up straight and stared at Tonks with a smile. "I think I need to call Ginny down here."

"Why? So I can get two girls staring at me like that?"

"A girl should know when someone is in love with her brother."

"I'm not in love, and this has nothing to do with Charlie or Bill or any other Weasley."

Hermione frowned. Apparently her and Ginny's plan to oust Fleur from the Weasley family had just suffered a major blow. "Who is it then?"

"Does it really matter in our conversation?"

"I'd like to know so I can tell you how much you're overreacting by using a time turner."

Tonks crossed her arms and looked the other way. "You know, I am an auror. I meet people outside of the Order on a regular basis - people that you won't even know."

"So why the attempt to cover it up earlier?"

Tonks glared at Hermione. Outsmarting the "brightest witch of her age" was apparently a bad idea.

Hermione took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's say you 'like' this guy. What could you do, hypothetically, in the past?"

"I'd ask him how he feels?"

"You couldn't do that now?"

"Well, you know, things are rather complicated right now with all this Dark Lord stuff."

"Hah! So he is from the Order!"

"Yes, geez. Let's move on."

"Okay. So he won't say anything now. Is it just because there's a lot of danger right now?"

"We have to do a lot of work in the Order, but there may be something else."

"Something else?"

Tonks sighed.

"If you don't tell me, I'm refusing you help."

"Okay. Just don't go telling anyone else."

"Not even Ginny?"

"You can tell her, I guess. You two can usually keep secrets pretty well between the two of you. Just no comment about my taste in men, either."

Hermione looked Tonks over. "Who exactly are we talking about here?" Hermione leaned in. "You know, Sirius is your mother's cousin, right?"

Tonks blanched. "I'm not talking about Sirius. It's about Remus."

Hermione blinked a few times. "Pro-Professor Lupin?"

"You know, he's not really your professor anymore."

Hermione stared at the ground and flickered her eyes back up at Tonks. "Um...I know there were a bunch of girls who thought he was kind of cute at Hogwarts-"

"What girls?!"

"What I mean is, well, he's a bit old for you isn't he?"

Tonks leaned back on the couch. "I know we're not exactly in the same age range, but that's not going to change how I feel...or don't feel."

"Do you think that's why he won't go out with you?"

"I think him being a werewolf is the reason."

"Oh. But you don't care about that do you?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be having this conversation."

Hermione stared directly at Tonks. "I still don't see how a time turner fits into this. Please tell me you're not going to go into the past when he's younger, try to make him understand that he deserves someone but really inadvertently make him fall in love with you which you reciprocate and stay in the past forever."

Tonks sat up. "I hadn't planned on it."

"Well, good. Because that could really mess things up here."

"Look. I won't do anything drastic like that. I won't even use my own face - I am a metamorphmagus after all. The only thing I'll do is show him a picture of me and ask him if he would be remotely interested in dating. By the time he meets me again, he won't even remember what the girl looked like in the picture."

Hermione seemed to be considering this. "How far back are you planning to go?"

"Sirius said that everyone was more care-free back at Hogwarts, so I'm thinking when they were in their fifth year."

"Wow. That's a long time ago. How many years is that?"

"From what I counted, it's 27 years."

Hermione whistled. "That would make Professor Lupin-"

"Yeah, old, I got it."

Hermione paused. "Why couldn't you just date Bill?"

"Hermione!"

"Okay. Your plan, however idiotic, seems all right. How exactly do you plan on doing this?"

"I'll disguise myself as a Gryffindor first year, so no one will know I've never been there before. That way, I could also ask him stuff in the common room."

"What happens when people realize you're not in class?"

"I'll only be there for a week at most. The others will assume I got kicked out for not attending class."

"How will you get to Hogwarts?"

"The same way every other underage wizard gets to Hogwarts. I'll take the train."

"And the sorting?"

"I can change into animals well enough to avoid suspicion. I'll just tell the others I was detained for being out of line."

"This whole plan has a lot of places where you could mess up."

"Most plans usually do. I'll be fine. But I do need help getting there."

Hermione shifted her eyes around the room, as if someone were going to take house points away or worse, take back that new, shiny prefect badge.

"Okay. But you have to be back here before anyone notices."

"It's a time turner, Hermione. I can go back to this exact time with little trouble."

"Well, it might be a little more difficult than that."

"What do you mean?"

"The time turner is controlled by a knob which you turn to go back in time. The problem is, the knob controls how many hours you go back, not how many years."

Tonks straightened her back. "Does that mean I can't get there?"

"It means you need to turn the knob a lot."

"How much is a lot?"

"Um...let's see." Hermione grabbed a calculator she put on the mantle for studying. "There are 24 hours in a day, 365 days in a year and you want to go back 27 years."

"Oh crap."

"Well, we're not really done yet. You need to add days for leap years. There is an extra day every four years, so that makes six extra days and multiply that by 24 hours. But then we're still two weeks away from boarding the Hogwarts Express, so you want to subtract 14 days multiplied by 24 hours from that calculation."

Tonks eyes glazed over. "So...a lot of turning."

"236,328 times to be exact."

Tonks closed her eyes and collapsed on the couch. "I'll never get there."

"Well, we could use a spell."

Tonks opened one of her eyes. "What spell?"

"We can use a wand to turn the knob on the time turner. Just point and say the number of times you want it to turn. It should work then."

"Should?"

"Well, I never tried it."

Tonks got up and took out her time turner and wand.

"Wait! What are you doing?"

"I'm trying it out."

"No." Hermione put her hands on top of Tonks'. "You can't do that. Someone might see you or be in the reading room or worse. If you're thinking about the number I gave you, then you'll go back 27 years to the very full Mrs. Black's house."

Tonks put her wand away, and Hermione dropped her hands. "Tonks, very bad things happen to wizards who meddle with time. You may not be seen, but that doesn't mean something won't go wrong."

"I'm not going to do anything stupid, and they'll never recognize me."

"I know, but...I don't think I could go back and not tell Harry's parents about what will happen to them or to not trust Peter Pettigrew. There are too many things in the past that can be changed by a small slip-up."

Tonks lowered her head. "I know what dangers there are, and I know it's silly of me to even dream of this plan, but...But I need to know this. I'm sorry I can't explain it better. I've never felt this way before, and I'm a little scared of what it means." She looked up at Hermione. "I need a way to ask him that won't put everything here at jeopardy. I need to do this."

Hermione sighed. "As long as you know I'm completely against this."

"I know. And don't worry. I'll be back literally before you know it."

"Oh don't say that. You'll be stuck there for sure now."

Tonks put a hand on Hermione's head. "Thank you." The girl nodded without saying anything. "I still need your help for something else - a picture."

After taking two pictures of a vigorously waving Tonks - one of which Hermione insisted on keeping - the auror walked down the steps with an extra set of robes from Hermione and a day-by-day schedule of what numbers she can use on what days. Going back at the same time seemed to be the only option if Tonks didn't want to do the math herself.

Tonks waved to the sullen-looking Hermione and walked out of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place with the small trunk of Hermione's extra clothes. Apparating to the London train station, with a new look as a pig-tailed 11-year-old girl, Tonks pulled out her wand and time turner. "236,328."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Harry Potter fandom.

Chapter 2: Tonks at Hogwarts

The flashing images of people running back and forth were nauseating to say the least. It took a good five minutes until everything stopped spinning.

Hurrying through the space between Platforms 9 and 10, Tonks had to admit that the Hogwarts Express and the station hadn't changed much. Students with odd haircuts were filing onto the train, just as they were when she was going to Hogwarts for the first time.

A large group of chatty girls brought her attention to the door of one of the cars where two boys were flirting with the fawning girls. It was just a little weird to see a boy who looked like Harry trying to pick up every girl with a heartbeat. On the other hand, the Sirius Black she recognized from her own childhood memories fit right in with the situation.

The train whistled its first warning and everyone who wasn't on the train stampeded to get to it. Tonks had always been unfashionably late to her own train rides, so this was nothing new, but the major problem was trying to catch up with James and Sirius, since Remus wouldn't be far behind.

Pushing her way through the crowd - no small feat for someone of an 11-year-old stature - she found herself incapable of getting past the gaggle of girls blocking any entrance to James and Sirius' car.

"You can sit in here if you want." Tonks turned to see a red-haired girl, who looked very much like a first-year student, waving her inside. Considering this was as close as she was going to get for now, Tonks settled into the car, putting her trunk below her.

"Wotcher. Thanks for the invite. Things were getting messy out there."

The girl seemed confused about the string of words, but smiled nonetheless. She, however, continued to stare at her. Oh yeah, a name.

"I'm...Amelia." At least it was better than Nymphadora.

The girl smiled back. "I'm Molly."

Tonks raised her eyebrows. "Molly?"

The girl nodded, her red-hair bobbing up and down in her ponytail. Oh God. Tonks laughed nervously and hoped someone else would join them very shortly.

"Is it okay if I sit in here?"

Tonks turned her head to see a boy with red hair smiling nervously. He also looked like a first year, and more importantly, like the other half of the Weasley family. Tonks sank lower in her seat.

"Of course." Molly smiled at the newcomer as he sat across from the girls. Tonks tried to avoid eye contact as much as possible. Then again, they were both Gryffindors, so it was going to be much harder to avoid them. She desperately wished that everyone she knew did not turn out to be a Gryffindor.

"I'm Arthur, by the way." He wasn't looking at Tonks, but rather at Molly. Big surprise. She didn't know he was interested since the first year, though.

"I'm Molly." She looked over at Tonks. "This is...er...Amelia. Are you all first years too?"

Tonks lowered herself in her chair.

"Yeah, I'm a little nervous. My family is an all wizarding family, so it's a lot of pressure."

"Mine too. I know a few cleaning tricks already, so I hope I'll be okay."

"Oh yeah. What can you do?"

As the conversation between the two future love birds progressed, Tonks hoped that her appearance in the car did not somehow push back their admittance of an early undying love. Judging by their interaction, her forgotten presence was not stopping them from saying anything.

"First years, huh." The three turned to a boy with black hair wearing a Slytherin prefect badge. It didn't take long for Tonks to identify the greasy git.

Snape looked over Arthur's tattered robe and snickered. The boy turned bright red and avoided looking at Molly.

Before she realized what she was doing, Tonks' foot connected with Snape's shin with a pronounced howl of pain in response.

"You little..." Snape pulled out his wand, Tonks answering with her own wand. She bet Snape wouldn't expect auror capabilities from an 11-year-old girl with pigtails.

"Severus." A girl with red hair and a boy with brown hair pulled Snape's wand arm down. "We're prefects now. Show a bit more control."

The red-haired girl argued with Severus, while the boy looked into the car. "Everything all right?"

Tonks found herself speechless at a younger Remus. There was no gray hair, no scars on his face, and he looked a lot healthier than he usually did. Tonks had to remind herself that in this time Remus was eight years younger than her.

"Everything's fine, I suppose." Molly gave Arthur a quick look, which he didn't return.

Tonks frowned when Snape gave a quick disgusted look at them, then left.

"I'm sorry about him." The girl's eyes - Harry's mother. "It'll get better, I promise." Lily smiled at the three youngsters and turned to Remus. "We should get going and make sure nothing else happens."

"Yeah." Remus turned to Tonks. "Good luck with the sorting." He gave his still trademark Remus smile and left with Lily. Tonks mentally slapped herself for not saying anything.

She turned back around and felt the palatable tension looming between Molly and Arthur with Snape's obvious disapproval. "We should probably get changed into our robes."

The two looked up and nodded, Arthur leaving momentarily to give them a little privacy. When the train stopped, the three joined other first years boating over the lake, making their journey to the Hogwarts castle.

Tonks looked at her two "new" friends as they put their trunks down. Tonks quickly disillusioned hers when no one was looking. "I'm going to take a look around."

"What?" Molly quickly lowered her voice when other students turned around. "Are you crazy? We need to get to the Great Hall."

"I know, and I'll see you in a bit." Tonks ran off, ignoring Molly's whispered call of "Amelia."

The girl's bathroom - notably not Moaning Myrtle's bathroom - was the easiest way to avoid the sorting without going to the common room. This way, she'll hear Remus and Lily leading the Gryffindors to the room and she can join the end of the line. However, she'd miss dinner and hoped Molly and Arthur or even Snape wouldn't say anything about her being missing at the sorting.

She had Hermione's Gryffindor outfit already, so she could at least get away with that. Tonks sat on top of the closed seat of the toilet and propped her feet up against the door. Her small body needed to get used to.

After waiting for what seemed like hours and forced to resort to jumping jacks to pass the time without sleeping, Tonks heard the long line of Gryffindors pass the door to the bathroom.

When the last person passed the door, Tonks jumped out with her still disillusioned trunk and followed the last person into the common room.

"...Your trunks and belongings will be upstairs. Try to get some rest before your first day tomorrow." Tonks noticed Sirius, James and a small, chubby boy chuckling and pointing at Remus. Trying to force down the urge to pummel Peter Pettigrew, Tonks hurriedly followed the other first year girls into the room, careful not to hit her disillusioned trunk into anyone or anything.

"Where were you?" Tonks could see the resemblance perfectly clear now. "I was worried! But at least you're in my house. I can't believe you did that. You're lucky I didn't tell anyone."

"Oh, yeah. I sort of got caught by a teacher anyway. As punishment I couldn't go to the rest of the sorting or dinner. It's a real drag."

Molly furrowed her eyebrows. "Be more careful next time, Amelia. Where's your stuff?"

"Oh." Tonks pretended to look under her bed, taking off the charm as she did so. "Here it is."

Molly collapsed on her bed. "I need some sleep. This was way too much for a first day."

"Yeah. Goodnight...um...Molly." It was a little awkward saying that now.

"'Night."

Tonks grabbed her picture out of her trunk and put it under the pillow. She hoped she could get to Remus as quickly as possible.

* * *

So maybe going to the man's O.W.L. and prefect year was a mistake, especially when he was notably studious. Remus was barely at meals, taking a class load rivaling Hermione's third year schedule and doing whatever it was prefects did in between. For a werewolf who was sick most of the year, he certainly put a lot of effort into his work during his healthier days.

The first time he was available all day was at dinner, sitting next to the other marauders. Tonks, in purely her own style, walked over to the boys and somehow managed to trip on the even floor and fall face first into the ground. Sometimes she tired of her first impressions.

"Are you all right?" She blearily looked up at Remus, looking worried while the other three were clutching their stomachs and mouths.

Tonks put her hand to her nose to check for blood. At least Remus didn't change in this respect. She couldn't say her clumsiness didn't come in handy once in a while. "I feel a little dizzy."

Remus grabbed her hand and looked at her head. "There's a bit of a bump. Why don't we go see the nurse. I'll take you there in case you feel dizzy again. Can you walk?"

Although the very thought of Remus carrying her was appealing, she wasn't going to press her luck and instead nodded, standing up shakily. She was sure the sheer number of times she had hit the floor with her head was bound to cause some sort of severe head trauma in the future. Too bad nothing seemed to cure clumsiness.

Tonks walked the all too familiar route toward the hospital wing and took a seat on the bed. Remus was looking at her rather surprised.

"Ah...first-year accident?" A nurse, not unlike Madam Pompfrey came out and looked at Tonks.

"I tripped. I kind of do that a lot."

"Hmph. Thank you for bringing her here, Mr. Lupin."

"Oh, it's no problem. She kind of walked here on her own." Tonks blanched. "Did you fall earlier today?"

"I...umm...I think I passed it on the way to one of my classes."

"I always thought this place was kind of out of the way."

"Well, when you're lost on the way to class, you'll tend to pass all kinds of rooms."

Remus smiled at her, but had that almost knowing look he seemed to give everyone. "I guess if that's all-"

"Could you stay?"

Remus looked a little taken aback.

"I mean, I don't know my way back."

"This will only take a second Mr. Lupin. Please take the child back when you're done."

"Of course." He smiled again and Tonks wondered if he ever got angry. While the nurse bandaged Tonks' head, she tried to covertly stare at Remus, although it became rather apparent that staring was always conspicuous. Remus kept on smiling, but seemed a little uncomfortable about the amount of attention he was receiving from what he saw as a little girl.

"There, all finished. I don't think you had a concussion, so I suggest getting some rest. Please lead her back to the common room."

Remus helped Tonks off the bed and she waited for him to take the lead this time before heading in the right direction.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I'm used to it." Remus gave her a confused look. "Used to making an ass out of myself."

Remus did a double take on the word "ass" but composed himself as best he could. "I wouldn't worry about it. Everyone...uh...gets embarrassed once in a while."

Tonks looked at Remus. Now was as good a time as ever. "What kind of girl do you like?"

Remus stopped altogether to stare at her. "I'm sorry?"

Tonks backtracked a little. "I heard some girls talking, and I know a girl who might be interested."

Remus' cheeks turned pink, and he hurriedly turned around. "They were probably talking about Sirius or James."

"But if it was you-"

"I'm sure it wasn't." Remus stopped in his tracks, and Tonks was a little startled about how sharply he cut her off. Maybe the younger Remus was different after all. "The portrait is just up the stairs. Do you know the password?"

Tonks dropped her eyes. "Yeah."

Remus turned around and walked back to the Great Hall. This was going to be a long couple of days.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Harry Potter fandom.

Chapter 3: Desperate Measures

The following week, Tonks had been dubbed by Sirius and James as "that girl." Her daily and more often than not, hourly attempts at talking to Remus earned more than a few laughs from every person in the dining hall.

The only thing that was sort of going well was that her behavior had driven Molly to talk to the other girls. Tonks was relieved, but it was plainly obvious that she no longer had anyone on her side.

Tonks passed a crooning Sirius and sat a few feet away by herself at the dining table.

When Sirius was complacent with her lack of reaction he turned back to the boys. "My cousin just told me she's getting married."

"Since when did you care about your cousins. Isn't that why you're living with me?"

"It is, but dear, dear Andromeda is joining my ranks of exile. She's marrying a muggle."

The other three boys looked up. "Really?"

"Yeah. She even plans on having children - wants to name a girl Nymphadora."

Tonks openly stared at the marauders. It was one thing to not tell the Potters of their demise or of Peter's treachery, but it was entirely something else to have a chance at changing her name. Tonks had to literally hold herself back from jumping at Sirius and giving him 100 reasons to not call anyone by that name.

"I'm glad I'm not her."

"Yeah, James' parents would never name a girl that."

"Pipe down, Wormtail, they're perfectly capable of calling us embarrassing nicknames."

"I think it's cute."

The boys stared at Remus, and Tonks couldn't help but lean toward the conversation.

"You think...it's cute?"

Remus seemed completely unfazed by the fact that everyone was looking at him critically. "Yes. It is a cute name for a girl."

"What is it with you and cute things, Moony? For a werewolf-"

"Quiet."

"-you seem to have an affinity for cute things."

"I don't think petting rabbits at the pet store makes me have an 'affinity for cute things.'"

Sirius shrugged and took a drink of pumpkin juice. "I guess not. But that god awful name is not cute. I mean, it would be embarrassing to date her and have to introduce her as Nymphadora."

Tonks cheeks burned and she could feel her heartbeat pulse through her forehead. She imagined she looked just like Molly when the twins did something wrong. She only hoped her hair did not turn a shade of red without her knowledge.

"Hello, mum, dad, this is my girl...Nymphie, Dory-"

A plate of chicken stopped Sirius from going any further. Tonks stomped out of the room with all eyes staring at her as she left.

* * *

After hours of pretending not to hear the first year girls whispering about her behavior, Tonks decided to take matters into her own hands, or rather Sirius' hands.

It was obvious Remus was unwilling to talk to a stranger about personal affairs, especially a first-year girl. Even if he were going to talk to her at all, she would have to keep putting effort into getting him to talk for weeks or more likely months. That was time she sort of had but was unwilling to spend.

Being a little past midnight, the only ones still up were Remus and Lily doing rounds and working on last-minute homework assignments.

Getting up without making too much noise, she snuck into the boys' dormitory and prayed that she would not trip up or down the steps. Grabbing a pair of Sirius' clothes, she metamorphed into Sirius - as much as one can without going into too much detail - and headed down the stairs.

"Evans." Remus and Lily looked up at Tonks walking down the stairs. "I need to talk to Remus for a second."

Lily turned to Remus only to shrug and carry her stuff to her room.

Remus put down his quill. "What is it?"

Tonks jumped on the couch in a type of Sirius style and yawned a little. "I heard an interesting thing from a girl today, Moony."

Remus squinted his eyes, but turned back to the fireplace. "You usually do."

"Yes, but not usually concerning you."

Remus paused. "You weren't talking to Amelia were you?"

Tonks sat up a little straighter and laughed a little. She couldn't figure out whether or not him remembering her fake name was a good thing or not. "No, I wasn't. But this girl did give me a picture." Tonks held out the picture to Remus.

He studied her for a second before taking the picture. "That's an odd style."

Tonks gulped. Punk wasn't really around yet, was it. "Some new style in America, I think. What's your verdict?"

Remus eyed her suspiciously. "Why are you asking me?"

"Well, the girl said that her friend saw you while visiting the hospital wing. She quite fancied you."

Remus groaned a little and turned around. "You know I don't date anyone."

"There's nothing wrong with a fling once in a while."

Remus turned around sharply. "Maybe not for you."

"Then how about hypothetically."

"Hypothetically?"

"Hypothetically would you be interested?"

"I don't even know her."

"But if you did?"

"I don't know."

Tonks sighed. This was really no different than talking to the older Remus. She got up and jumped off the couch. "I thought you could use a little fun."

"Amelia."

Tonks stood still with her back to Remus. "The plate you threw at Sirius gave him a bruise on the right side of his head. Something you don't have."

Tonks moved her lips a couple of times trying to find her voice. "How did you know-"

"No one else asks me this type of thing."

"Oh."

Remus walked around to face her. "That quite a good duplicate."

"Polyjuice potion. My mum made some before I left, said it would come in handy."

"I see." Remus didn't move away and however nice it was to stand in front of him, it was more than a little awkward.

"I'm sorry for tricking you, but...but you need to lighten up." Tonks poked him in the chest for extra emphasis. "If someone really likes you and you have feelings for them too, you should give them a chance. You'd be surprised about how that other person feels."

"I don't think you understand-"

"I don't think you understand, Remus. Some people would rather love you than pity you. I'm not saying you marry every girl that shows interest, but a date would be nice."

Tonks punched Remus in the arm, which earned her a very confused look. "Ask someone about what women really want. We're not all flowers that need protecting." Tonks began to walk away, but turned around quickly. "Uh...ask Lily or someone, not Sirius. Don't trust anything Sirius says about women."

Tonks turned and started running up the stairs. "Amelia." She half-turned to Remus still holding his arm. "You sure seem a lot older than eleven."

Tonks took the rest of the stairs at a run and metamorphed back into "Amelia" before getting back into bed and changing under the covers. Whatever she set out to do was sort of done, at least as finished as it was going to get. She was positive that Remus was never going to say anything to her about the picture now.

* * *

According to Hermione, the journey out of the one-eyed witch into Honeydukes was around a half-hour at a run. Tonks left a quick note for Molly thanking her, but saying school wasn't for her. That way, everyone in the school who knew her or of her won't ask too many questions. She disillusioned herself and her trunk and set out from the Hogsmeade passage. She needed to get there by 10 a.m. so she could use the time turner for the final time and go back to the Hogsmeade in her time.

Carefully maneuvering herself out of Honeydukes - not as easy as it seems with two racks of acid pops and a box of chocolate currently spread on the ground - Tonks took off the charm in an unpopulated area. 9:59. Just on time.

Tonks took out her wand and time turner and looked at Hermione's scribbled numbers on the sheet of parchment. It was 10 days since she arrived. "236,088."

The flash of images were more or less the same. There were many more Hogwarts students; she even swore she saw three sets of footprints conspicuously walking around. Everything stopped spinning, and although the strong aroma of firewhiskey was inviting considering her last 10 days, Tonks thought it best to knock on Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place before Hermione went crazy.

Making a quick stop in a bathroom to metamorph and change back to the clothes she had on earlier in the day, Tonks apparated with her trunk. Knocking quietly on the door (finally remembering not to ring the doorbell), Tonks wasn't exactly surprised to see Hermione rip open the door, pull her inside and hold onto her.

"I swear I'm never helping you again. That was the most aggravating second of my entire life."

Tonks put her arms around her and patted her head. "I'll keep that in mind."

Molly Weasley looked out of the kitchen door. "Did you leave, dear?"

Tonks looked up and half-wondered if Amelia would ever be remembered. "Just stepped out for a moment is all."

Molly looked concerned. "And Hermione?"

Hermione whipped her head around and wiped her eyes. "I'm just glad everything's back to normal."

Molly tried to think hard about the response but shook her head. "Why don't you two wash up and help me set up for brunch."

Tonks virtually carried Hermione up the stairs and left her in one of the bathrooms to clean up.

Somehow making it down the staircase and past the umbrella stand, Tonks inevitably tripped down the two stairs in the kitchen doorway only to be caught by a usually grinning Remus.

"Wotcher, Remus."

"Good morning, again, Nymphadora."

Remembering what Remus said about her name earlier, Tonks decided to let this one slide. "Where'd Molly go?"

"She's upstairs trying to confiscate Fred and George's newest inventions."

"Ah." Tonks leaned on the table and looked at a much older looking Remus Lupin. The gray seemed to actually suit him.

"Hermione seemed rather upset."

"Huh...oh...uh...you know, girl stuff."

"Oh. So this wouldn't by chance have anything to do with Hermione knowing how to use a time turner, then?"

Tonks openly stared at Remus with her jaw dropped.

Remus walked over to her and pulled a picture out of his pocket. "Tonks, the next time you go back in time, don't leave pictures of yourself there."

"Oh - How did you - How could I - Why didn't you say anything?"

Remus sat beside her on the table keeping an eye out for Molly. "I honestly didn't remember I had it. I thought you looked familiar when I first met you, but then I found the picture about a month ago in a box."

"A month? I'll ask again. Why didn't you say anything?"

"Time is rather interesting and rather complicated. I never saw the outfit before and you didn't seem to own anything like it. It wasn't until today that you said you just bought it and Hermione's curious reaction that I knew you had gone back. If I mentioned or said anything earlier, I would have given up the picture too early and you never would have gone back in time to give this to me. While I appreciate it now, I hope you don't go time traveling again. It's a right headache trying to sort through a mess like this."

"Do I have a reason to go back now?"

Remus glanced at Tonks, then at her picture, which he promptly put back in his robes.

"You know that's mine."

"Well, you did give it to me. I don't think you can just take it back now."

Tonks paused. "Is that a challenge?"

Remus laughed and lifted up his hands in defeat.

Molly walked in with an armful of gadgets and discolored candies. Tonks sighed and got back up to help Molly.

"Nymphadora."

"I swear, Remus-"

"I think a date would be nice."

Tonks turned and stared at Remus, whose blush reminded her of his 15-year-old self. She abruptly turned back around. "You know, saying stuff like that won't automatically make me forgive you for saying my first name."

Remus held back a laugh. "I guess I'll have to try harder then."

Tonks continued to walk toward Molly, who began a rather long-winded explanation of what will happen to the twins. Tonks found herself not really minding the rant.


End file.
